The Acre Magistrate’s Court today lifted the gag order banning the publication of the name of the chief suspect in the Kibbutz Manara murder and weapons-theft case. A petition was filed with the court by several Israeli newspapers and radio stations requesting that they be permitted to publish the name of the suspects in custody.
The chief suspect in the case is John Elraz, 48, of Kiryat Ata. He holds the rank of major in the IDF reserves and has served in the General Security Service public officials protection unit in the past. During the Begin administration some twenty years ago, Elraz was one of the security agents responsible for the safety of then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. Elraz also served in IDF intelligence and has a high security clearance; this facilitated his illegal activities by permitting him access to classified installations. The security clearance also permitted him to obtain the government contract to construct the new northern border fence between Israel and Lebanon. It was during that period over the past months that he became acquainted with the victim, security chief Yitzhak Kvartach, who was murdered in order to clear the way for the theft of the automatic weapons.
According to police and GSS investigators, Elraz murdered the security chief of Kibbutz Manara on March 15, 2001. With the assistance of five Israeli Arab accomplices who are also in custody, residents of Salim, he then stole seventy-three M-16 automatic rifles from the kibbutz armory. The weapons were then sold to terrorist elements inside the PA autonomous municipality of Jenin for approximately NIS 600,000. Investigators handling the case are also indicating that Elraz has admitted to previous weapons thefts and he may also be tied to past murders. It is being reported that Elraz has admitted to the allegations being leveled against him and he has even reenacted the crime for investigators.
The Israel Police department today revealed details of yet another incident in which a Jewish person aided the PLO war cause. The Jewish suspect, Angelica Yosefov, 20, was the girlfriend of Zayid Kaliani, the terrorist who blew himself up last month inside a taxi van at the Mei Ami junction in Wadi Ara. Claude Knopp, 29, of Tiberias, was killed in the blast, while the terrorist lost both of his legs. Aside from the Mei Ami bombing, the police have learned that along with Kaliani, Ms. Yosefov planned three other attacks in the Tel Aviv and Haifa areas, including the stabbing and critical wounding of a policeman.
The chief suspect in the case is John Elraz, 48, of Kiryat Ata. He holds the rank of major in the IDF reserves and has served in the General Security Service public officials protection unit in the past. During the Begin administration some twenty years ago, Elraz was one of the security agents responsible for the safety of then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. Elraz also served in IDF intelligence and has a high security clearance; this facilitated his illegal activities by permitting him access to classified installations. The security clearance also permitted him to obtain the government contract to construct the new northern border fence between Israel and Lebanon. It was during that period over the past months that he became acquainted with the victim, security chief Yitzhak Kvartach, who was murdered in order to clear the way for the theft of the automatic weapons.
According to police and GSS investigators, Elraz murdered the security chief of Kibbutz Manara on March 15, 2001. With the assistance of five Israeli Arab accomplices who are also in custody, residents of Salim, he then stole seventy-three M-16 automatic rifles from the kibbutz armory. The weapons were then sold to terrorist elements inside the PA autonomous municipality of Jenin for approximately NIS 600,000. Investigators handling the case are also indicating that Elraz has admitted to previous weapons thefts and he may also be tied to past murders. It is being reported that Elraz has admitted to the allegations being leveled against him and he has even reenacted the crime for investigators.
The Israel Police department today revealed details of yet another incident in which a Jewish person aided the PLO war cause. The Jewish suspect, Angelica Yosefov, 20, was the girlfriend of Zayid Kaliani, the terrorist who blew himself up last month inside a taxi van at the Mei Ami junction in Wadi Ara. Claude Knopp, 29, of Tiberias, was killed in the blast, while the terrorist lost both of his legs. Aside from the Mei Ami bombing, the police have learned that along with Kaliani, Ms. Yosefov planned three other attacks in the Tel Aviv and Haifa areas, including the stabbing and critical wounding of a policeman.